ESPN's FPI rankings are significantly higher on the Tennessee Vols than other polls

The Tennessee Vols were ranked No. 25 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.

Tennessee's loss to the Oklahoma Sooners last weekend essentially crippled the Vols' College Football Playoff hopes.

But the Vols, despite being off this past weekend, should still move up a couple of spots in this week's College Football Playoff rankings thanks to losses by Washington, Missouri, Louisville, Virginia, and Iowa.

ESPN's FPI rankings are significantly higher on the Tennessee Vols than other polls

While Tennessee is expected to move up a couple of spots in the College Football Playoff rankings, they'll likely remain outside of the top 20.

ESPN's FPI (Football Power Index) rankings, however, believes the Volunteers should be ranked significantly higher.

Tennessee is at No. 14 in ESPN's updated FPI rankings. The Vols are the highest ranked three loss team in ESPN's FPI rankings.

Interestingly, Tennessee is ranked one spot above Oklahoma despite the loss to the Sooners earlier this month.

The Vols are also ranked ahead of two-loss Vanderbilt and one-loss BYU.

ESPN's FPI rankings are metric based, which is why they look quite different than the AP Top 25 poll or the College Football Playoff rankings.

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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Nov 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.